Take me back to the Oral History landing page.
Thomas Ewing - Legislators Project
Thomas (Tom) Ewing grew up in tiny Atlanta, Illinois in a farming family, and earned a law degree in 1968. From 1975 through 1991 he served in the Illinois House of Representatives, rooming with Dennis Hastert at the time. In 1991 he moved to the U.S. House of Representatives following a special election, once again rooming with Hastert. He represented Illinois' 15th district until 2000 during a period when the Republicans took control of the House in 1995, and during the fights over welfare reform and the budget. He voted to impeachment President Bill Clinton. He actively supported Hastert's successful bid to become Speaker in 1999.
Interview Links
Feature Except-Audio
Redistricting
Abstract
Interview Session 01 (Audio)
Early life and election to the IL House of Representatives in 1974
Interview Session 02 (Audio)
Years in the Illinois House from 1975 through 1984
Interview Session 03 (Audio)
Service in the IL House until 1991
Interview Session 04 (Audio)
Service in U.S. House during Bush '41 and thru 1995 and Republican majority
Interview Session 05 (Audio)
Clinton impeachment thru retirement from the U.S. House in late 1990
Interview Session 06 (Audio)
Retirement year activities and memories of 9-11
Interview Session 07 (Audio)
Photos
Caption
Tom sits on his mother’s lap (Harriet Ewing) in 1936.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1936
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
From left to right are Kenneth Dye, Mary Jane Connell and Willie Dye in Atlanta, circa 1935. Ken flew transport aircraft over the hump during WW II, while Willie was a fighter pilot who was shot down over Italy, then evaded capture.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
Circa 1935
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom Ewing on November 11, 1937 at his home in Atlanta, Illinois.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
1937
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Sam and Harriet Ewing with their two boys, Nate and Tom, in the backyard of their Atlanta, Illinois home.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Grandmother Ottie Irish with Tom outside her Atlanta, Illinois home.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom with his pony during a visit in the early 1940s to the family’s farm outside of Atlanta, Illinois.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
Early 1940s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom used this horse and buggy to give rides on Sunday afternoons to children from their Atlanta, Illinois neighborhood during the war years.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The Ewing family’s buggy rig which young Tom Ewing (far right) and Nate used during World War II while growing up in Atlanta, Illinois.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom’s father Sam Ewing on his horse, circa 1940 in Atlanta, Illinois.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
Circa 1940
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom Ewing on his pony outside their Atlanta, Illinois home during the war years.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom Ewing ‘steals a kiss’ from a classmate while they were on a school trip to Pekin, Illinois in the early 1940s.
Where:
Pekin, IL
When:
Early 1940s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom’s mother Harriet Ewing stands outside their Atlanta, Illinois home, circa 1940s.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
Circa 1940s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The family gathered for Christmas dinner in the mid-1940s at the Ewing’s Atlanta home. Tom’s father is at the head of the table with Nate and Tom.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
mid-1940s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom Ewing played basketball on the Atlanta school team in 1947. He is in the 2nd Row, 2nd from the right.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
1947
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Jane R. Ewing, Tom’s grandmother, relaxes in the family’s den during a visit to Atlanta in 1951.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1951
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom Ewing is second from the left with a herd of ponies he sold in 1954 to help finance his college education. His cousin Nate is standing behind him, and the family handy man, Tex Deavers is on the right.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1954
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
The Ewing home in Pontiac, Illinois in September 1971. The family lived there when he was first elected to the Illinois State Legislature in 1974.
Where:
Pontiac, IL
When:
1971
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
On election night on November 5, 1974 Janet and Tom posed with their children, Kate, Sam and Jane in their Pontiac home.
Where:
Pontiac, IL
When:
1974
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom and his daughter Jane check out a photo album while spending Christmas in 1979 at Tom’s aunt Julia Reinmiller’s home in Atlanta, Illinois.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
1979
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Connie Lupo and Tom Ewing spent Christmas in 1980 at Tom’s mother’s home in Atlanta, Illinois.
Where:
Atlanta, IL
When:
1980
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom Ewing’s children, Jane, Kate and Sam were visiting their father’s office in the Illinois Capitol in the 1980s. Note William Crook’s sketch of the Illinois Capitol behind Tom.
Where:
Illinois Capitol
When:
Circa 1980s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Dennis Hastert, Dorris C. Karpiel and Thomas Ewing served together in the IL General Assembly in 1984-85. Hastert and Ewing presented Dorris with a box of rabbits after she complained that no one ever sent her gifts.
Where:
IL General Assembly
When:
1984-85
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
This sketch of Representative Tom Ewing was done by S. Stockton in 1989 and was a given to him as a gift.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1989
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Daughter Jane Ewing with her father on the steps of the U.S. Capitol while she worked as an unpaid staffer in the early 1990s.
Where:
U.S. Capitol
When:
Early 1990s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Son Sam Ewing with his father on the steps of the U.S. Capitol while he worked as an unpaid staffer in the early 1990s.
Where:
U.S. Capitol
When:
Early 1990s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Congressman Ewing was visiting the Chicago Board of Trade Options floor in the early 1990s. Mike Stokie, his chief of staff, is standing behind him.
Where:
Chicago Board of Trade Options
When:
Early 1990s
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Congressman Ewing with his D.C. office staff took this photo in his Longworth Building office in the early 1990s. Eric Nichols is on the left, with Mike Stokie next to him.
Where:
Longworth Building
When:
Early 1990s
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Congressman Ewing’s D.C. staff in the mid-1990s. Eric Nichol (in back with glasses) was his Washington, D.C. director of staff at the time.
Where:
Washington, D.C.
When:
mid-1990s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Bill Barrett, Joe Nolenburg and Tom Ewing called themselves the ‘Three Musketeers,’ in part because the U.S. House doorman could never keep them straight. They were ready for a festive night at the White House Christmas party in the mid-1990s.
Where:
The White House
When:
mid-1990s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom Ewing and Lynn Martin, who represented Rockford in the IL House in the late 1980s, greet each other in the IL House chamber. They both moved to Washington, D.C. in the 1990s, representing their respective districts.
Where:
Illinois House
When:
Late 1980s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom’s mother Harriet and wife Connie visit his congressional office when he first arrived in Washington D.C. in 1991.
Where:
Congressional Office
When:
1991
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Connie and Tom Ewing with President George and Mrs. Barbara Bush at the White House Christmas party in 1991, Tom’s first year in D.C.
Where:
The White House
When:
1991
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Republican Congressmen Tom Ewing, Dennis Hastert and Minority Leader Bob Michel (all of Illinois) met with Vice President Dan Quayle in Washington, D.C. in 1991.
Where:
Washington, D.C.
When:
1991
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Tom and his daughter Jane met with First Lady Barbara Bush during a White House picnic in 1991.
Where:
White House picnic
When:
1991
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Congressman Tom Ewing with a Fox News reporter in Washington, D.C. in the late 1990s.
Where:
Washington, D.C.
When:
Late 1990s
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
Tom shakes hands with President Bill Clinton as Clinton enters the U.S. House chamber for the annual State of the Union address circa 1994.
Where:
U.S. House chamber
When:
Circa 1994
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Tom Ewing thanks Minority Leader Bob Michel for attending his fund raiser at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C. in 1995/96.
Where:
Capitol Hill Club in Washington D.C.
When:
1995-1996
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Bob Michel, Tom’s wife Connie and Tom enjoy a dinner in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall during an event for new members in 1993. Since Tom had been elected in a special July 1991election, this was his first opportunity to attend the event.
Where:
U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall
When:
1993
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
Congressman Tom Ewing used this photo on campaign literature during his runs for the U.S. House in the 1990s.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Circa 1990s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom and Connie Ewing stand outside the Capitol in Washington D.C. in 2000, Tom’s last year in Congress.
Where:
Capitol in Washington D.C.
When:
2000
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom and Connie Ewing family Christmas card, 2008.
Where:
Unknown
When:
2008
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Tom and Connie’s family 2014 Christmas card, taken in downtown Pontiac.
Where:
Pontiac, IL
When:
2014
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
Congressman Tom Ewing (right) met with fellow Congressman Jerry Weller of Morris, Illinois. The two were touring the Kankakee River, for which Weller hoped to obtain federal funding to address problems along the river.
Where:
Kankakee River
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.